:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/28191269/456870239.0.jpg)
Tottenham Hotspur's official club website had an interview with Zeki Fryers a couple of days ago, and his quotes are extremely encouraging. He talked about how he's been training in more than one position in an attempt to make himself available for cover all over the back line, and he's hoping some more first team opportunities will pop up.
Given Younes Kaboul's injury history and our lack of a backup left back, it's nice to hear that he's ready.
"These days it's useful for a defender to be able to play in a variety of positions. I'm learning to play the two positions, full-back and centre-back, and that's a good thing for me. I'm also trying to get used to playing both sides of the defence as well. It's tough, but it's about getting your bearings right and your positioning correct. It means I'll be ready should I ever be needed to fill in.
I've had a few opportunities this season and I just want to stay in the set-up now, keep working hard and whenever the chances come by, try to take them and keep progressing. You have to always do the right thing, whatever the game, whether it's first team, Under-21s and of course in training. You have to train how you intend to play. Now I'm just looking to get more chances between now and the end of the season to show what I can do. I'm certainly ready."
This is everything we want to hear from young players, especially those on the fringes. Fryers was decent for the Under-21s last season, but looked like a player a bit too far behind in his development at 20 years old to ever make a serious impact for the first team. His improvement in the last year has been incredible, and he's finally looking like someone that has a serious future at a high level.
It's nice to know that neither the Tottenham coaching staff, nor Fryers himself have put him in a box. It's still not obvious if his best position is left back or center back, and it's great to hear that he's committed to learning both. Hopefully he'll turn into a quality player who can give Spurs cover at multiple positions.
